Win the Interview with Your Career Portfolio

Smart job seekers know that they have to prepare for the interview to know how to sell themselves, handle challenging questions, and overcome concerns in their histories or experience levels.

However, only about 3% to 5% of active job seekers have catapulted their way to the top by the savvy strategy of creating and leveraging a career portfolio.

So few job seekers use portfolios because most job seekers do not realize the value, do not know what to put in a portfolio, or just do not want to take the time to assemble one.

Because so few use a career portfolio, this is a fantastic way to stand out in the interviewing process.

However, there is also another added gold star for your career in maintaining a portfolio – you are better able to talk about your accomplishments, more prepared for updating your resume since the information is at hand, and ready to position yourself for your next promotion or annual evaluation! Why wouldn’t you want to spend the little extra time it takes to create a powerful portfolio?

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What Is a Career Portfolio?

For many, it will be a 3-ring binder with plastic page protector sheets and categorized tabs where you record the milestones of your career. For others, it might be a virtual web portfolio that can be viewed on a laptop or a tablet or stored on a CD for portability and review.

The elements of a portfolio can vary widely but frequently are composed of items such as:

Resume (customized for the opportunity).

If appropriate, include organizational charts, corporate annual or quarterly reports, customer surveys, product/service reviews, and other public material indicating the quality and success of your employer (current or former).

PDF version of your LinkedIn Profile.

Include this ONLY if your Profile is complete and demonstrates both the quality of your work and your understanding of the importance of positive online visibility. If the Profile is not complete, be careful about including it. Read LinkedIn Job Search Guide for help creating and maintaining an effective Profile.

Laura DeCarlo is recognized as the career industry’s ‘career hero’ making a difference to both job seekers and career professionals as the founder of Career Directors International. She possesses 11 top-level certifications in resume writing, career coaching, and career management; 7 first place resume and job placement awards; and has written three books on interviewing and job search including Interview Pocket RX, Interviewing: The Gold Standard, Resumes for Dummies,and Job Search Bloopers. Follow Laura on Twitter at @careerhero.